Fowler in the City: Kuruvungna Village Springs

Join us for an off-site program at Kuruvungna Village Springs, a sacred site for the Tongva people. In conversation with Kimberly Morales-Johnson and Samantha Morales Johnson Yang (Gabrieleno/Tongva San Gabriel Band of Mission Indians), participants will walk through the site’s medicinal gardens for an ethnobotany tour and learn about the cultural and ecological significance of the springs. This program offers a meaningful opportunity to engage with Indigenous knowledge systems, healing practices, and the ongoing stewardship of this important Tongva site.
Kimberly Morales Johnson is an enrolled member of the Gabrieleno San Gabriel Band of Mission Indians and a lifelong advocate for Tongva cultural continuity, health, and land stewardship. She currently serves as Tribal Secretary and as a community-elected commissioner for the Los Angeles City/County Native American Indian Commission. Kimberly is also the co-founder and Vice President of the Tongva Taraxaat Paxaavxa Conservancy Land Conservancy. Raised on her tribe’s traditional lands, she continues a family legacy of leadership—her father served as tribal chairman and was among the first Native American Monitors for the State of California. Kimberly has presented widely at colleges and universities on Gabrieleno/Tongva history and cultural preservation. She holds a Master’s in Public Health and is pursuing a PhD in Native American Studies at UC Davis. Her work centers Tongva voices, knowledge, and care for the land.
Samantha Morales Johnson Yang is an enrolled member of the Gabrieleno San Gabriel Band of Mission Indians whose work bridges art, science, and cultural preservation. Trained as a marine biologist, she brings an interdisciplinary approach to environmental education grounded in Tongva knowledge systems. Since 2020, she has served as the tribe’s biologist and ethnobotanist, supporting conservation efforts and cultural revitalization. Samantha is a proficient basket weaver, educator, and environmental activist, creating work that honors Creator and teaches audiences of all ages about Gabrieleno culture, marine life, and ecological responsibility. Inspired by a lifelong love of both science and storytelling, she is committed to sharing Indigenous perspectives on environmental stewardship and sustaining cultural practices for future generations.
Kuruvungna Village Springs meaning “a place where we are in the sun,” is a living natural spring and ancestral Tongva village site in Tovaangar (present-day Los Angeles). Stewarded by the Gabrielino-Tongva Springs Foundation, this two-acre sacred site features ponds, gardens, and a cultural center dedicated to preserving and sharing Tongva history, culture, and lifeways. In recent years, Kuruvungna has undergone extensive community-led ecological restoration, renewing the land while sustaining its role as a place of cultural continuity, education, and collective care.
Presented in partnership with Gabrieleno/Tongva – San Gabriel Band of Mission Indians and the Gabrielino Tongva Springs Foundation at Kuruvungna Village Springs.

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